Liars On Gun Forms Now Face Perjury Charge

September 28, 1999|By Evan Osnos, Tribune Staff Writer.

Illinois State Police have a warning for those who try to buy guns when they know they are prohibited from doing so: You may have gotten away with it in the past, but try again and you might go to jail.

Under a new procedure that is beginning to yield arrests, state police are tipping off local and federal law enforcement officials whenever someone is denied a gun purchase in Illinois because of background problems--including mental illness, prior convictions or other factors.

"People may not know it, but it's a felony to lie on (an application for a gun purchase)," said state police spokesman Lt. Dave Sanders. "And Illinois is taking this very seriously."

Since it was initiated last month, the procedure has snared at least two prospective gun buyers in the Chicago area, and police in many parts of the state say they plan to use the policy aggressively.

The procedure grew out of the Benjamin Smith case, authorities say. Smith was turned down by a licensed gun dealer who checked his record, police say, but authorities had no knowlege he was gun shopping. Smith then turned to an unlicensed broker in the days before embarking on a murderous romp in July.

Had local authorities known that Smith--who was denied a gun purchase because there was an order of protection against him--was trying to purchase guns, police might have kept closer tabs on him, officials say.

"People will figure out very quickly--if they haven't already--that we are taking note of this," said Waukegan Detective Richard Slusser, a member of the Lake County Repeat Offender Program task force, who last month made one of the state's first arrests stemming from the new policy.

On Aug. 3, 30-year-old Waukegan resident Bobby Epson walked into a local gun shop and tried to buy a pistol, police say. But authorities allege that Epson lied when filling out his gun application, by indicating that he had never been convicted of a domestic battery charge.

Court records show that Epson was convicted of such a charge in 1995. And on Aug. 12 Slusser arrived at Epson's home to take him into custody.

Last year, some 1,600 people throughout Illinois were denied gun purchases, according to state police officials. After running their names through the government's instant-check system, gun dealers determined that they weren't eligible to own a gun.

In the past, very few of those were prosecuted, according to the Cook County state's attorney's office, largely because local police were rarely informed that prospective buyers had ever tried to buy a gun.

That information "never really went anywhere," Sanders said.

Under the new program, the names of those denied appears within hours on computer screens at local police departments and at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

In addition to state penalties, under federal law lying on a gun application is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Gun control advocates hail the new procedure. Meanwhile, officials at the National Rifle Association, who have long criticized prosecutors for not pursuing gun violations under existing law, said they generally approved of the policy as long as the rights of prospective gunowners are protected.